NFL teams ‘make $1m offer to Rees-Zammit’
THREE NFL franchises are offering Louis Rees-Zammit in the region of £900,000 (more than $1m) as they vie for his signature, according to RugbyPass.
Rees-Zammit underwent rigorous testing at the NFL’s IPP Pro Day, posting a 40-yard dash time of 4.44 seconds as the league’s scouts watched on from the sidelines.
The former Wales wing has caught the eye among his cohort for his size, speed and skillset and three as yet unnamed NFL teams are reportedly keen to snap him up.
That’s despite ReesZammit being disappointed with his speed test results on test day, having previously run 4.3 seconds in training. He was, though, praised for his footwork drills at the pro day, with scouts said to be very impressed.
The £900,000 figure is likely to be if he makes a team’s active roster. He will initially be picked up as part of a practice squad, which will see him earn around £200,000.
Conversations had already been happening with teams prior to the pro day, and more talks are expected in the coming days.
The Penarth-reared star is eyeing a career as a running back or a wide receiver, although the prospect of him being picked up as a kick returner on special teams has not been wholly ruled out.
His NFL journey reached a crucial juncture on Wednesday as he was put through rigorous testing in the Pro Day at the University of South Florida.
The Welshman was subjected to various testing on his agility, speed, strength and skills after 10 weeks on the International Player Pathway Program.
To begin with, the former Gloucester wing was assessed on his physique with some shirtless posing for the scouts, before being weighed in at 209 pounds (94 kilograms). NFL scouts watched on from the sidelines as Rees-Zammit was put through his paces in various trials. The first test was the broad jump, with the 23-year-old managing 9ft 7ins – and was visibly frustrated afterwards. The record for that is 12ft 3in and was set by Byron Jones in 2015.
Next up it was the vertical jump, with Rees-Zammit managing 29 inches. The record for that (45 inches) is held by wide receiver Chris Conley, which was achieved in 2015.
On the eagerly-anticipated 40-yard dash, Rees-Zammit secured a time of 4.50 seconds. To provide context – the fastest ever time was recorded just two weeks ago at a separate combine by 20-year-old Xavier Worthy, who recorded a score of 4.21 seconds. This eclipsed the previous record of 4.22 seconds.
Rees-Zammit’s second dash was slightly quicker at 4.44 seconds, but according to AP NFL writer Robert Maadi, who was at the trials, the Welshman was not happy.
Maadi wrote on X: “LRZ told me he was disappointed with his time in the 4.4s and said he’s run in the 4.2s and 4.3s.”
However, that time was noticeably quicker than former IPPP participant Christian Wade, who also switched from rugby to NFL. The former Wasps man clocked 4.53 seconds, so the Welshman was 0.09 of a second quicker than Wade.
We are still yet to see ReesZammit’s bench press, short shuttle and three-cone drill scores, whilst the full list of official scores from NFL UK are yet to be released.
Fellow British athletes Praise Olatoke (Scotland) and Harry Mallinder (England) were also part of the 15-player collective in Tampa.